Jonathan Chait writes some good stuff and other times he pulls crap from his ass.

Exhibit A (see tweets). I just read his seven page essay and wow, so much foolishness. He compares the treatment of Bill Clinton and President Obama as one and the same. Really? Because Clinton faced daily racism and a congressman from the South insulting him on national and live TV in the House chamber. Because Clinton had mobs of people waving the Confederate flag outside his home. Because Clinton had racist emails passed around by congressmen and women mocking he and his family, right? Because Clinton was demanded to show his birth certificate to the entire nation and prove his patriotism and citizenship, right? What utter nonsense. Clinton did not face 1/10th of what President Obama faces everyday.

Chait then tries to tell Black people what racism is and what racism isn’t; because a white man knows what racism is. Nooooo…Black people don’t know what racism is and can’t recognize dog whistle slurs. They have to wait for the benevolent white man to instruct them on what racism is. What ridiculous nonsense.

Chait doesn’t even consider or think about the Black perspective when spewing trash from his ivory tower. He also pretends that the GOP hasn’t really been racist. That they would do the same to a white president that has been done to President Obama. If you’re not walking around everyday in an African-American’s skin and subjected to all that comes with it – the good and the bad – then maybe one should think twice before infecting the world with such garbage.

Absolutely stunned by that piece Nerdy, always had a lot of time for Chait, but this is so just so offensive and awful I really don’t know where to start. As Jamil said, to write a piece like this without even referencing the birth certificate moment, which shredded all our hearts …. oh, I can’t even think about this any more.

I kept reading page after page and all I kept saying was “are you kidding me? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?” The fact that he left out the birth certificate moment negates his entire article. What other President of the United States of America has been forced to endure a moment like that.

That moment was painful. That moment hurt so much. That moment filled so many (Black, White, Asian, Native American, Latino, etc.) with rage. I remember First Lady Michelle Obama saying how much that moment hurt and angered her and President Obama was the one who had to comfort her. They were essentially telling African-Americans that they aren’t citizens in their own country. That President Obama is not as American as the 43 presidents before him.

That was the ugly face of racism and for Chait to dismiss it, for Chait not to mention it, for Chait to pretend that Black people don’t know and understand racism is the height of dishonesty.

Unbelievable. Let’s do a little thought experiment, hmm? Six years into his presidency, the President not only is caught having an affair with a young WH intern, he is caught lying about having an affair with a young WH intern; an intern who has an unwashed dress covered with the President’s sperm; an intern with a talent for hiding cigars. Now you tell me which president, the black one or the white one, comes out on the other side of all this disgrace with a 60% approval rating.

Liberal leader Philippe Couillard will now become the province’s premier.

The election centred on PQ’s controversial Charter of Values, which would ban public employees from wearing religious items, and a revivial of the debate over Quebec’s possible independence from Canada.

Turnout of Quebec’s six million eligible voters on Monday was projected to be above 60%. Canadian media called the election for the Liberals less than an hour after polls closed.

If you don’t live in an African-American’s or other minorities skin, you don’t have a bloody clue what life is like. You can write foolish nonsense about racism and what is racist and not racist from your privileged tower but you will will never for one day experience what minorities live through.

White ppl talking about racism like it's an academic exercise irks me. It's my LIFE. Not something you write about after a glass of scotch.

I was so enraged and hurt and just fed up that day. A US president having to answer ridiculous conspiracy theories ginned up by the lunatic fringe and given credence by the “loyal opposition” and the mainstream press.

Like us all LL, I just wanted to give up that day, it was so utterly depressing. I still don’t understand why it was done, but I assume PBO felt it was the only thing to do under the circumstances. I just reckoned it was a misjudged effort to appease the nutjobs, who are unappeasable so long as a black man sits in the Oval office. It was a shameful day, and that Chait didn’t even acknowledge it in his piece renders him pointless. Or worse.

My dear Chips, I viewed it as a totally COURAGEOUS act and had nothing to do with appeasing anyone but one of Barack Obama’s countless acts that demonstrated he can rise above any level of hate. It was the ultimate ‘brush the detritus off the shoulder’ and move on.

I felt the same way like you LL! But my outrage was mainly directed at the Republican party and the so called mainstream Media! Both the GOP and the media did not have to enable the racist obsessed “lunatic fringe.”

Jonathan Chait said MSNBC has engaged in an “intellectual stop and frisk operation” against the GOP by calling them racist when for example, Jan Brewer wagged her finger and yelled at President Obama or when Joe Wilson yelled “you lie!!!” at President Obama during his address to congress.

Really? What Jan Brewer did was ok? MSNBC shouldn’t have called her out? Who is more likely to get stopped and frisked walking down the street if they weren’t Governor or President? Gov. Jan Brewer or President Barack Obama?

I bet Chait is proud of himself for saying "intellectual stop and frisk" instead of "lynch mob"

As though he knew the backlash he was going to face, he dropped his trash at night. There’s been lots of reaction; overwhelmingly negative. Wait until people wake up tomorrow and read that nonsense. The reaction will be interesting to observe.

Mr. Chait should be reminded of these other things that PBO was subjected to and which no other POTUS has ever experienced:

– Uninsured people thrashing the healthcare law and vowing not to enroll in it as long as it bore your name but rushing to enroll in same law once your name was not associated with it;
;

– Adults proudly carrying stuffed monkey toys (with PBO’s name of them) to rallies and waving them wildly as they shouted : “go back to Africa”;
;
– People making life-sized representation of your likeness and stringing these effigies on poles claiming in public that they are lynching you;
;
– Voters in your own party telling your campaign volunteers that they can never put yard signs with your name in front of their house and that they would never vote for a black man; same voters having yard signs of the white candidates from your party and telling these same volunteers that they would indeed be voting for them. Election results later confirming the pattern in this area;

;
– Voters in your party choosing to vote for a felony rather than vote for you; others in the same state choosing not to vote for you although they voted for your white challenger in the primary;

Some things I will never forget from the campaign =>

Personally, I was almost run off the road into a river by a man who then rolled down his window and told be very specifically that it was because of the Obama sticker I had at the back of my car. Then he started laughing so loudly with wide eyes but soon after speed off. It was very early in the morning and we were the only two cars on that deserted part of the freeway at the time – was too shaken to even get his number and this was before I had a cell phone so couldn’t even call the police.

Another guy sent his huge dogs after us when he saw us in Obama tee shirts and asking him for his vote – curses at Senator Obama followed us as we run very fast to our cars;